By Tek Smith ReadOasis Step 3 The world was waiting in anticipation. It had been three years since the death of Steve Jobs. Jobs was the head of Apple Computer. Under his leadership, Apple released many innovative products, including the iPod, the iPhone, iTunes, and the iPad. These products... Read more
Violent Games and Young Minds
ArtsB2-Intermediate+BNC LevelsCEFR LevelsListen!ProtectedSciencesStep 3Stories 0
ReadOasis Step 3 Millions of gamers were waiting for the day. On November 10, 2009, the game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" was released. In the first 24 hours, about 4.7 million copies were sold. And the first day of revenue in the US and UK reached $310... Read more
By Tek Smith ReadOasis Step 4 Ashley was born on March 7, 2027. It's her birthday today, and she is 18 years old. Her birthday present will be a new computer. Her budget is 1,000 dollars, and today (March 7, 2045), this money will buy her a very powerful... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) El Expolio by El Greco El Greco wanted to be a great artist. (His name means “the Greek.”) Like many Greek artists of his time, El Greco moved to Venice, Italy. Venice was alive with cultural change, achievement, and art during a period of... Read more
The Future of Water (Step 3)
B2-Intermediate+BNC LevelsCEFR LevelsListen!ProtectedSciencesStep 3Stories 5
ReadOasis Step 3 Rajan woke up to the sound of bird calls. He rubbed his eyes, and he heard his mother calling his name. “Rajan! Wake up! We need water for today.” Saying nothing, he got out of bed and got dressed. Then he walked outside, his dark brown... Read more
Evolution by Natural Selection
B2-Intermediate+BNC LevelsCEFR LevelsListen!ProtectedSciencesStep 3Stories 0
ReadOasis Step 3 Evolution is a process of how living things change over time. Natural selection is the basic mechanism of evolution. It was introduced by Charles Darwin in 1859. He compared natural selection with artificial selection. In artificial selection, humans choose traits for breeding. For example, we can... Read more
Awarding Excellence: The Pulitzer Prize
ArtsB2-Intermediate+BNC LevelsCEFR LevelsCoursesListen!Music Step 3BProtectedStep 3Stories 0
ReadOasis Step 3 The Color Purple is a book about a black woman named Celie. The story tells of her life and struggles, as she grew up in the Southern United States during the 1930s. The book was written by Alice Walker. And the movie version was directed by... Read more
By Tom Peters (Creative Commons) ReadOasis Step 4 Does this require more explanation than the Golden Rule (“Do unto others ... ”): Badmouthing competitors diminishes you. Period. “Win” with better product. “Win” with better relationships. “Win” when your industry is prospering and has a good reputation. (Think consultants, ad... Read more
The Artful Geisha (Step 3)
ArtsB2-Intermediate+BNC LevelsCEFR LevelsListen!ProtectedStep 3StoriesStyles 1
ReadOasis Step 3 Geisha are traditional female entertainers from Japan. They are skilled at various Japanese arts, such as classical music, dancing, and poetry. The word "geisha" comes from (GEI) meaning "art" and (SHA) meaning "person." Thus, in a literal sense, a geisha is an artist. In the modern... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3 Black liquid exploded out of the ground and towards the sky. It was oil—black gold—and it had the power to light up homes. It had the power to run the engine of the American economy. It had the power to make a man very rich. John... Read more
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
ArtsB2-Intermediate+BNC LevelsCEFR LevelsListen!ProtectedStep 3Stories 2
ReadOasis Step 3 We are far into "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" when Albus Dumbledore says, "Dark and difficult times lie ahead." But they lie behind us too. And these dark and difficult times have caught our imagination since the beginning of Harry Potter. But this fourth... Read more
Richard Wagner, Musician
ArtsB2-Intermediate+BNC LevelsCEFR LevelsCoursesMusic Step 2BProtectedStep 2Stories 1
ReadOasis Step 2 Richard Wagner was born on May 22, 1813. He was a famous German musician and writer. He wrote operas, or "music dramas." Unlike many writers of opera, he wrote the words and music for all his works. Wagner's music is known for being intense, complex, and... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3 Winston is an editor. Every day he works with words. His hands are soft, and he is not strong. He does not do hard physical labor. But his job is challenging and even dangerous. He works for the government of Oceania. Every day, he rewrites history.... Read more
Country Music Icon: Hank Williams
ArtsB2-Intermediate+BNC LevelsCEFR LevelsCoursesListen!Music Step 3AProtectedStep 3Stories 0
ReadOasis Step 3 It was the middle of America’s Great Economic Depression. Hank Williams was just seven when his father left. The stress from World War I still burned in his father’s brain, and he committed himself into Veteran’s hospital. Hank’s mother worked. She played organ at church, and... Read more
Playing Global Business on a Level Field
B2-Intermediate+BizBNC LevelsCEFR LevelsListen!ProtectedStep 3Stories 0
ReadOasis Step 3 A Review of The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century By Thomas L. Friedman. We are entering a new era where the world is one massive marketplace. Old powers had the advantage, but the playing field is leveling now. New powers are... Read more
A Musical Money-Making Machine
B2-Intermediate+BizBNC LevelsCEFR LevelsCoursesListen!Music Step 3AProtectedStep 3Stories 0
ReadOasis Step 3 Carrie Underwood by Eva Rinaldi (Creative Commons) Carrie was a country girl from Checotah, Oklahoma. She lived on a farm, and in the mornings, she would help her father feed the cows. Carrie loved to sing. She started singing at church when she was 3 years... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 He is the star of books, movies, and TV shows. Maybe you know him from the film The Mask, with Jim Carrey. Perhaps you know him from the TV show Frasier, or maybe you saw him in the film My Dog Skip. He is full of... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 An old man was fishing alone in a small boat. He was off the coast of Cuba near the town of Cabanas. He hooked a marlin, a great fish with a long, sharp spear for a nose. The powerful fish pulled the small boat out to... Read more
Change in 59 Seconds By Professor Richard Wiseman ReadOasis Step 2 59 Seconds is about the science of self-help. So one part of the book explodes commonly held myths. So for example, the idea that to motivate yourself, you have to visualize the perfect you. From a scientific... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 The Colorado River is long. It flows through the Grand Canyon, and it stretches for 2,334 kilometers through 7 U.S. and 2 Mexican states. On its way to the ocean, it serves 30 million people. They depend on the water of the Colorado River for work... Read more